On July 20, 2010, COMET went around West Maspeth taking photos of graffiti and other quality of life problems. These were reported to Council Member Elizabeth Crowley's office, which called in 311 complaints. For problems with weeds, overgrown areas, dumping and graffiti, the Department of Sanitation is notified. Home and business owners may be fined for garbage or weeds in front of or on their property.The City cleans graffiti free of charge so long as the building owner does not object. The City promises to have these issues resolved within 35 days of the complaints. We will follow up in coming days to make sure that the City has kept its word.

Please join me for my first Traveling Community Office visit to the Maspeth/Elmhurst community on Tuesday August 24th 3:00 p.m. to 5 p.m Maspeth Town Hall, 53-37 72nd Street Maspeth, NY

My staff and I will be available to answer your questions and listen to any concerns or suggestions you may have for improving our quality of life. We will also be able to assist you, on site, with problems you may be experiencing with any NYC agency.

If we haven't yet met this would be a great opportunity for you to drop in and say hello. I look forward to seeing you this Tuesday August 24th.

Voters will mark their choices on a paper ballot using a pen or ballot marking device, and will insert their marked ballot into a scanner. The scanner will then tabulate the votes after the polls close on Election Day. The new poll site voting system provides a verifiable paper record and allows all voters, including voters with disabilities, to vote privately and independently at their poll site.

Several thugs attempted to burglarize a Maspeth house just before 1 p.m. on August 6, a gutsy move when many pairs of eyes could simply look out the window and see that something was out of place.

A next-door neighbor got home early from work and noticed two strangers ringing the doorbell. He went into his house, heard some noises and observed the intruders trying to force open the back door with a crowbar.

He attempted to chase down the thugs, and his yells of “Get him! Get the plate!” caught the attention of a young male neighbor, who ran up to the getaway vehicle, a light blue minivan with an Illinois license plate, which was parked several hundred yards up the block at 60th Drive and Mount Olivet Crescent.

“They skidded out around the corner with a screech and I knew they were already gone,” said the young man, “so I focused on the plate only, repeating the numbers over and over to myself.”

It turns out several of the middle digits were incorrect, but his description helped police quickly track down the speeding vehicle, which crashed into several parked cars on the other side of the cemetery, on a residential stretch of 69th Street and Caldwell Avenue. The suspects took off on foot and a frantic pursuit followed, with helicopters searching from above. As of press time, the suspects had not been caught.